THE REPUBLICAN THEATRE OF BELARUSIAN DRAMA

In accordance with the statement of the BSSR Council of Ministers, the Republican Theatre of Belarusian Drama was established in December 1990. At first it was a structural division of the Yanka Kupala Belarusian Theatre. The new theatre got the status of artistic laboratory, and its aim was to support national drama and discover new Belarusian authors. The Theatre was headed by Valery Mazynski, The Honoured Abrtworker, the winner of the Republic of Belarus State Prize. The troupe was consisted of his former students from the Belarusian State Theatre and Arts Institute. The first premiere took place on February 1, 1992. Director Andrey Guziy staged Mikola Arakhoгski’s play Cuckoo.

The “Cuckoo” by Mikola Arahousky, 1992

The “HEAD” by Igor Sidoruk, 1993

Soon the theatre gained independence and moved to a new building at 44 Krapotkina St., where it’s situated nowadays. A lot of careful work was done for playwrights in order to understand the laws of theatre. Attendance at rehearsals and reading the play was obligatory for author. During the first decade, the repertoire was enriched with the productions of the works by Mikola Arakhouski, Uladzimir Savulich, Igar Sidaruk, Maksim Klimkovich, Miraslau Adamchyk, Raisa Baravikova, Alena Papova, Siargey Kavaliou and others.

The emphasis was made on metaphorical and absurdist performances. The Theatre took an active part in festivals. The Theatre made a successful appearance at the Edinburg Fringe Theatre Festival with the performances of William Shakespeare’s Richard and Macbeth.

The “RICHARD” by William Shakespere, 1995

The “MAKBETH” by William Shakespeare, 1996

From 2000 to 2012 the Republican Theatre of Belarusian Drama was headed by Valery Anisienka, the Honoured Artworker, the winner of the Republic of Belarus State Prize. As before the troupe was formed from the former students of the new director. At that time, special attention was given to the atmosphere of studying, the young actors’ professional growth, artistic discipline and spiritual microclimate. The professional model was based on the idea of a home-like theatre. The artistic priorities were given to psychological theatre. The RTBD is joining the international theatre movement. Invitations to festivals come one after another. The performances of Mikalai Rudkowski’s Bergman’s Women, Yanka Kupala’s Eternal Song, Sviatlana Aleksievich’s Chernobyl Prayer have seldom returned home without awards. There have been many international projects with theatre workers from France, Israel, Russia, the USA, and Serbia. The conditions for the RTBD’s creative work have been considerably improved by attaching to the Theatre the second floor of the neighbouring building. The ever growing attention of the theatrical public is being drawn to the Centre of Belarusian Drama, which was created at the theatre in 2007. At present, the Theatre’s company comprises 33 actors with 33 performances in the repertoire. In 2010, the Theatre was awarded the honorary title of the Honoured Company of the Republic of Belarus.

The “CHERNOBYL PRAYER” by Svetlana Aleksievich, 2002

The “INTERNAL SONG” by Yanka Kupala, 2002

In 2012, Aliaksandr Gartsuyeu, the Honoured Artworker, was appointed as artistic director of the Republican Theatre of Belarusian Drama and Igar Sigau was appointed as administrative head. Uladzimir Karacheuski became the head of the theatre in 2014. Very soon it became clear that the young and mobile troupe was developing new relations with the public. The new RTBD performances are permeated with reflection on life and the modern human’s place on Earth. The best of them – Yanka Kupala’s The Scattered Nest, Dzmitry Bagaslauski’s Maybe?, August Strindberg’s The Pelican, Andrey Ivanou’s She’s All That – provoke discussions and strong reactions, excite the audience.

The “THREE GISELS” by Andrey Koureichik, 2013

The “QUIET WISPER OF DEPARTING STEPS” by Dmitry Bogoslavski, 2013

The “PELICAN” by AUGUST STRINDBERG, 2016

The “BELARUS. DIDACTICS” by Aliaksandr Marchanka, 2017

The “SCATTERED NEST” by Yanka Kupala, 2013

The “HUMAN’S LOVE” by Dmitry Bogoslavski, 2015

The “IT”S ALL BECAUSE OF HER” by Andrey Ivanov, 2016

The “MEDEA SYNDROME” by Yulia Cherniavskaja, 2017

The Centre of Belarusian Drama headed by Aliaksandr Marchanka fruitfully works with young authors and attracts the attention of the theatre public. The Theatre does a lot of work with young directors, looks for new theatrical forms and means of interacting with the audience. An important place in its activities belongs to international cooperation, participation in festivals and artistic workshops, expansion of international links. In 2015, the RTBD became the organizer of the 2nd Youth Theatre Forum of the CIS and Baltic countries and Georgia, which proved to be a theatrical highlight not only in Belarus but also abroad.

Ivan Vyrypaev’s workshop in Center of Belarusian Drama, 2012

The “ECHELON #0“, scene reading, 2014

the “EXTERIOR SIDE”, scene reading, 2013

The presentation of 5th International Drama Laboratory of Center of Belarusian Drama, 2016